Seven Wylie ISD music ensembles earned national recognition from the Foundation for Music Education in 2026, the most the district has ever received.
The honors span five campuses and, for the first time, all three school levels: elementary, junior high and high school, according to a district announcement. The Foundation for Music Education awards the top 25% of entries as National winners and the next 25% as Commended.
"Wylie ISD received four National Mark of Excellence Awards, and this is the most National awards we have ever received," said Craig Needham, Wylie ISD's executive director of fine arts. "This is the first time we have had awards in all three divisions: Elementary, Junior High, and High School."
Needham added that five campuses received awards, the largest number in district history.
Four ensembles earned the top-tier National Mark of Excellence Award:
- Bush Elementary Choir, directed by Sara Rond and Marisol Santana
- Cooper Junior High Wind Ensemble, directed by Adam Powell and Misty Smith
- Wylie East Wind Ensemble, directed by Holly Taylor
- Wylie High Wind Ensemble, directed by Paul Heuer and Mark Schroeder
Burnett Junior High's Wind Ensemble, directed by Matthew Hedrick and Davis Ponjuan, earned a Commended Mark of Excellence.
Two more groups were recognized in the Citation of Excellence competition, which honors non-varsity ensembles. Cooper Junior High's Symphonic Band earned a National Citation of Excellence, and Wylie High's Wind Band received a Commended Citation of Excellence.
The Bush Elementary Choir's recognition marks another first. The district said 2026 was the first year elementary choirs were eligible for the Mark of Excellence competition. Sara Rond, the choir's director, called the inclusion "incredibly affirming for all elementary directors building musicians."
Cooper Junior High's band program has now earned 17 Foundation for Music Education recognitions dating to 2015, according to Powell. He said the 2026 Cooper Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band "were filled with super hard-working and amazing young musicians who performed to the best of their abilities each day."
Paul Heuer, who directs the Wylie High Wind Ensemble, said the competition asks groups to submit their best recordings of the year to a panel of national-caliber adjudicators. He said the music his students performed "was a huge challenge for the students, and we are excited their hard work was recognized."
The seven honors add to a strong fall for Wylie ISD music programs. The Wylie High School Percussion Ensemble was separately selected for the Music for All Sandy Feldstein National Percussion Festival in Indianapolis, the district announced in a separate release.
